piston197

Dean, having a foot in the classic market, a lot of what you say is true, in the bike world generally there is a downward trend, the only areas bucking the trend seem to be military WW2 machines, 1970's Japanese and Italian machines and top of the range limited edition bikes from 1990/2000's ( Ducati especially) The age demographic of the owner now has sealed the fate of many 1940/50/60's British lumps of iron and the forty year old rule for free tax and non-requirement of MOT has driven up the desire for just pre 1984 machines, this is largely why, as you say, the rubbish we were buying for a few hundred quid in the day as a second hand vehicle have now become so desirable in the car world, this includes a lot of what were absolute shockers in the day , allegro, avenger , ital ,marina, Princess, Granada etc. meanwhile anything with a low survival rate from this period like alfasud , Lancia Beta, Saxo etc that rotted to death if they went near a puddle are also now desirable, before we even get onto Escorts, capris,205's Golfs etc Meanwhile, like the bikes, the older cars are in a downward spiral, I have sheds full of bikes which most are now not worth the price I paid for them when I bought them, for example I have a 1966 Triumph TR6 Trophy I bought about 6 years ago for £7k, I doubt even on a good day it would be unlikely to achieve £5k now.

There is one in the back of my van, it will be at Kempton Park autojumble for sale Saturday 26th Oct., 1930's Rudge Martin J.A.P., it could do with a polish 😁

1965 Newport speedway programme, Vol 1 Issue 1 = 1 shilling ( 5p in "new money" for the pre decimal generation 😁) Speedway programme magazine Newport Waspland Whisperings No1 1965 | eBay

"Lol", Lawrence Hare, I was there at the Newport meeting against Exeter, not the worst crash I have seen by far, but devastating consequences Lol back at speedway trackside | Ipswich Star

I was in awe of the shapes Frank Smart used to get in, often leaning off the inside of the bike to keep it more upright, sometimes appearing to have his head under the left hand bar, this picture gives a flavour, but often a lot more extreme than this Frank Smart

I remember Lewis Bridger coming to Newport with a 2 valve upright for the Winter Classic and not having a good day, good thing about that winter meeting was Tim always had riders who would give it a go in the worst conditions, have a look at this final, passing and re-passing ( and a couple of falls)

The price admission is relative to the amount of interest there is in live attendances at motorsport, speedway while once a crowd pleaser has been watered down to a less promotable product, youth interest in speedway and motorcycling in general is now mostly negligible. As a youngster I rode motorcycles around the woods/fields from the age of 10, with no interest from any family members, walked across 2 fields and a wood to get to my nearest scramble track ( not MX) to watch my heroes, from the age of 16 I had a job/income and a motorcycle, that motorcycle took me to Hawkstone Park, Farleigh Castle, Tirley scrambles, Local grass tracks etc.,not seeing my first speedway match until I was in my late teens. At school there were dozens like me with old bikes being thrashed every evening and weekend, when I started my apprenticeship there were 24 of us, 2/3rds of which rode motorcycles to work. I am still hooked and past pensionable age still work with motorcycles, organise a motorcycle event 3 times a year ,sell bikes and parts. The price of entry will make little difference to the crowds at speedway, unfortunately there are so many other attractions available which are more appealing to the "yoof", we have to face it, the product just does not appeal to the majority of the public these days and entry prices will not address this.

Too much coffee seems to be keeping you up all night ?

that appear on it then fill yer boots or any other high street pharmacy !

Done !

Speedway: Not guilty says Tigers star in punch-up row. - Free Online Library (thefreelibrary.com) It did not quite look to me to be as the quote from Will Beveridge gives above, Courtney came off on his own in a tight 2nd bend, Linqvist never touched him, still sitting on his bike awaiting the re-run Beveridge launched himself at Emil, knocking off his bike and dislocating his shoulder, so he could not go in the re-run, then mechanics, team managers all had a bit of a scrap on the track . Also saw the lesser of the 3 Karlsson brothers have a heated discussion with the start marshal over the marshal trying to move him over, eventually moved, made a bad start, came last, then returned to the start marshal and had a punch up with him at the tapes after the race had finished !

Like Billy Joel and Shaggy on this one !

Fire today, transport hub tomorrow. Newport Queensway Meadows all over again !

The Patterson collection auction catalogue now on line memorabillia An Extraordinary Private Collection of Over 100 Speedwa... (05 Jul 24) (hjpugh.com) Bikes An Extraordinary Private Collection of Over 100 Speedwa... (05 Jul 24) (hjpugh.com)

Makes as much sense as swapping Tate Zische for Carl Stonehewer

some would have come on here and said he doesnt know what he is doing putting Matt Perry in the race. I wouldn't put Matt Perry in any race ! David Scwimmer might be a better bet, at least he is still alive

Some H & S things were a good move, ball end levers, dirt deflectors, folding footrests/kickstarts ( MX). throttle cut-outs , ambulance cover, drug tests to name but a few .

"Thanks for your opinion. Now clear off you absolute nonce" Joey Barton v Jeremy Vine case springs to mind ?

That will be the oole track then

I have just come back from HJ Pugh's auction house in Ledbury, they have a sale on the 5th July from one collection which features over 100+ museum quality speedway/grasstrack bikes including 2 James V twins, 2 Alloy Pinfolds Pinfold Alloy Special Speedway (cybermotorcycle.com), OEC, Norton ,Erskine, Rotrax, Cotton ,Excelsior, Rudge Indian etc etc as well as over 100 speedway bibs, push bikes and speedway memorabillia, the stuff is already at their auction house ,but will not be on line for a while OLD TIME SPEEDWAY | Sad to read that Ian Paterson's Speedway Collection | Facebook

My bad. thought it was a lot different to what was broadcast this morning, which was basically a moaning piece NT doing a Steve Mallet doom and gloom piece, along the lines of "use it or you lose it "

BBC midlands news this morning, small piece about Birmingham speedway, it could have been a good advert for the club and to let people know about it with some enthusiasm for the sport ? No! it was a warning by Nigel Tolley if the crowds do not turn up, then speedway will not be sustainable and will disappear from Birmingham , this before a home match has even been staged, pessimistically expecting a poor turn out it would seem ? Full article from last night was a bit better BBC One - Midlands Today, Evening News, 24/03/2022, Brummies banking on speedway fans' backing

Heard it all before ,Rogers/Mallet/Newport, how did all that end, spent a fortune on super team ( Doyle/Gjedde etc.) won KO cup, over spent, expected crowds to increase, they did not, how did that end ? Steve Mallett “To have only 401 for a meeting with our nearest rivals was a huge disappointment and people must realise that we, and I include all my family, cannot go on losing any more money.” 16th September Steve Mallett “We have been advised time and again that speedway fans will only turn up en-mass to follow a winning side, so we dug deep into our financial pot and produced one which has won 13 and drawn another in its last 17 league and cup fixtures. But crowd sizes remain below what they should be and we really have reached the stage now that it’s make or break for local speedway followers. I really am urging fans who occasionally to come to watch to unite in a show of strength for Saturday night, without doubt the biggest meeting in our time here.”

Yes perhaps he made a habit of it, deffo went over at Newport as well. some of the worst looking crashes miraculously end up with no one hurt, and the most simple slide offs can be life changing ,I remember seeing Marek Mroz straighten up on turn 3/ 4 at Haley Meadows and hit the pit gate head on at full throttle, hard enough to burst it open, and yet walk away from it ! and Will Beveridge attacking Emil Lindqvist after Sean Courtney came to grief in a heat , putting Emil out of the heat with a broken collarbone Speedway: Not guilty says Tigers star in punch-up row. - Free Online Library (thefreelibrary.com)

He cleared the fence on bend 2 at Newport, minus the bike, looked to be an horrendous accident as he flew through the air and disappeared out of sight,1Minute later he popped back over the fence like nothing had happened !